


Pit Stop

by Konoha



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 15:23:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16043198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Konoha/pseuds/Konoha
Summary: Rin gives Haru a ride to the high school nationals, but of course, not everything goes as planned.





	Pit Stop

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Wrote this after watching the new episode (ep 11) so kinda spoilers if you haven't seen it yet or are waiting to binge-watch them all together. Haven't written in a while so please be gentle <3

Rin sighed as he leaned back against the bench, feeling the tiny drops of sweat roll down the side of his face. He dabbed it slightly with the towel that hung around his neck before reaching into the front pocket of his joggers. He glanced at the clock on his phone as he lifted it up– 20:02 exactly. He maneuvered around to find his contact book, scrolling down past the seemingly endless list of coaches, teammates, and friends, until he stopped at the one he had been seeking. Rin drew in a breath as he pressed the _call_ icon, bringing the phone to his ear as he absentmindedly ran his left hand through his hair. It took one ring before the person on the other end answered.

“Haru,” Rin stated simply. He heard the slam of a locker before a quiet shuffle. “I wanted to talk to you,” Rin continued after a pause.

“Yeah,” responded Haru, “I wanted to talk to you, too.” He didn’t allude to what he wanted to discuss, but Rin sort of had the feeling he knew what Haru was going to say.

“Tomorrow,” Rin began, “The high school nationals,” He paused to tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear, momentarily distracted, “You want to go?”

“Yeah,” Haru said, “I know it’s the day before our tournament, but I do.”

“Can you get off?”

“I already asked him.” To this, Rin let out a laugh, and he heard a grunt on the other end in response.

“Of course you did,” he responded. He waited for Haru to speak, but he remained silent. After a moment, Rin continued, “I can give you a ride, if you want.”

“Sure.”

Another pause, leading Rin to sigh. “9:00, then?”

“Sounds good,” Haru stated, and Rin heard the distinct sound of a door closing and feet shuffling, Haru presumably getting ready to head home, “You remember my address?”

“Yeah, I’ll come by. See you.” With that, Rin quickly hung up, feeling his face flush.

* * *

 

The next morning, Rin could hardly contain his excitement to finally get to spend some time with his best friend. He changed outfits three separate times, the final decision being on a grey t-shirt instead of a black and red one. He looked at himself in the mirror, satisfied, and grabbed his keys off the coffee table for his rental.

By the time he pulled up outside Haru’s apartment complex, it wasn’t even 9, but for whatever reason Haru was already outside waiting. He noticed Rin almost immediately, walking over as soon as he was within range. Rin rolled down the window, smirking up at him with a simple “Hey.”

“Hey,” Haru returned, getting in and putting on his seatbelt. He gave Rin a small smile as he did so, although the peace didn’t last for long.

“You’re going too fast,” Haru remarked nearly five minutes later, holding on to the bar above his door for emphasis. Rin almost snorted when he glanced over, noticing that Haru was _pouting_.

“I’m going the speed limit,” Rin responded, “Besides, what would you know? You’re always taking trains, and they go way faster.”

“Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t slow down,” Haru muttered, shifting to lean his head against his palm as he stared out the window with a frown. Rin caught a glimpse of his reflection as he looked at his mirror to change lanes, and almost crashed the car when he saw the tiniest hint of a blush gracing Haru’s features. He stayed silent as he swallowed hard, trying to keep his eyes on the road.

Around them, an endless sea of trees engulfed their view. As they continued their drive to the arena, they passed sign notifying them of an upcoming rest stop. A thought dawned on Rin, and he looked down at the gas meter to find it nearly empty. He groaned, knowing very well that he should have filled it up _before_ this whole ordeal.

“I gotta stop,” Rin jerked his head towards the rest stop as they approached it, “Forgot to get gas.” Haru said nothing in response but gave a small hum of acceptance. When they pulled up, Haru got out, headed for the convenience store attached to the station. Above the building there was a sign suggesting they sold a popular chain’s coffee there.

“Haru,” Rin called out from his window, “Get me a coffee?” He saw Haru turn slightly and nod before continuing, coming out a few minutes later with a brown bag in one hand and a cup holder with coffee and iced tea in the other. Rin leaned over and opened the door for him, Haru sliding in with ease as he balanced the cup holder and bag. He put the drinks in the built-in holders in the car, meekly opening the bag to pull out two cinnamon muffins, handing one to Rin before Rin could even object. Rin took a sip from his coffee as he lifted up the lid, pleasantly surprised that Haru had remembered how much cream and sugar he preferred.

* * *

 

They must have been ten minutes from the arena when it happened. The traffic began to build up again as they approached one of the main roads, the backroads no longer an optional route to the arena in the heart of the city. A car had run a light, causing Rin to slam the breaks and send the coffee splattering everywhere. It got all over the middle island, and onto Rin’s pants.

“Ah, Haru,” Rin began after he recovered from the sudden shock, “Pass me a napkin, would ya?”

Haru did just that. He handed Rin _one_ napkin.

“No, I mean,” Rin paused, catching himself before he facepalmed, “Not just one.”

“I don’t have any more,” Haru stated plainly, “I only got three, and we each used one for the muffins.”

“Who the hell gets three napkins – Agh, Haru.”

“Do you have any in here?” Haru asked, pointing towards the glove compartment with his index finger.

“Yeah, I should,” responded Rin as he dabbed the napkin, almost soaked, on his leg. Suddenly, his eyes widened, turning to Haru quickly, “Actually wait, don’t---” But it was too late.

Haru’s eyes widened as he picked up a neatly wrapped package, complete with a ribbon and his name scribbled underneath. He turned it over in his hands, apparently amazed at the dolphin decorations that adorned the wrapping paper. Rin, who was desperately trying to keep his focus on the road, felt his face turn crimson as he saw Haru staring at him in the corner of his eye.

“Well, I was gonna give it to you later,” Rin sighed, “It’s just a little souvenir from Australia. I wanted to surprise you, especially since it was the only gift I bothered wrapping, but oh well.” He tried to come off nonchalant but couldn’t help but glance over to see what Haru was doing. He was, of course, still admiring the wrapping paper, which Rin was _pretty damn proud_ to have picked out.

“Thank you,” Haru gave him a small smile before tearing open a corner, careful not to ruin the paper too much. Rin found it genuinely adorable but held his tongue, choosing instead to catch glimpses of Haru through his side mirror and his reflection. Haru gazed upon the _Tales from the Deep_ book with awe, flipping through the pages akin to the way a kid may treat a comic book. Rin stifled a laugh, unwilling to ruin the moment but finding the situation hilarious.

Squished at the end of the book, as Rin soon found out, was the location of the bracelet he had lost a week prior. The double of it sat in his pocket, unworn. It was a bronze chain with a red and blue ribbon woven in between. He didn’t even realize Haru had found it until he did a double take, noticing him examining it between his fingers.

“Oh that, that’s uh—” Rin struggled to explain, “a silly ol’ bracelet. Got one for me, too.” He mumbled the end of the sentence, quickly adding, “You don’t have to wear it, I know you don’t wear much jewelry.” He idly shook his wrist for emphasis, his gold bangles jingling slightly.

“I like it,” Haru said, slipping it onto his wrist. He looked at it with an unreadable expression before turning to Rin again.

“Thank you,” he repeated. He leaned to his side, awkwardly giving Rin a half-hug that nearly made them swerve off the road.

“Haru!” Rin was visibly flustered, the color of his cheeks almost matching that of his hair, “Save it for after we get out, _sheesh._ ” He was smiling though, draping his wrist on the steering wheel as he leaned back. With the arena slowly growing in view, they sat in silence for the remainder of the ride, each smiling contently.

 

 


End file.
